Just back from Celebrity Mediteranean Legacies Cruise
Jul 2nd, 2007, 12:15 PM
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Just back from Celebrity Mediteranean Legacies Cruise
We just got back from our honeymoon cruise on Celebrity's Millenium. We did the Mediterranean Legacies 6/18-6/30 2007 cruise from Venice to Barcelona and it was amazing. Instead of posting a long cruise journal, just let me know if you have any questions.
Jul 2nd, 2007, 05:12 PM
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Welcome Home;
I did like to know EVERYTHING, well maybe not everything. Is Celebrity cruises as good as they say? Of course please tell me all about the food. It's the cruise out family wants to do in 2008.
Theresa in Detroit.
I did like to know EVERYTHING, well maybe not everything. Is Celebrity cruises as good as they say? Of course please tell me all about the food. It's the cruise out family wants to do in 2008.
Theresa in Detroit.
Jul 3rd, 2007, 05:44 AM
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We were very pleased with Celebrity. I don't think I could find a reason to not reccomend them 100% to someone. The service on board was amazing, we looked forward to seeing our stateroom attendant, head waitor, and assistant waitor every day. They made us feel welcome. Everyone always had a smile on their face and was eager to take care of us.
The food was very good, they had a nice selection of items at the causal buffet for breakfast and lunch everyday, as well as sit down meals in the main dining room. We always felt like there were a lot of options for each meal and the food was always extremely fresh. We enjoyed taking advantage of the pasta, pizza, and salad bar that stayed opened until 1 am. Sometimes it was nice to grab something after a long shore excursion if dinner was a couple hours away too. Lunch always had the most variety- there is a grill out by the pool that has hamburgers, veggie burgers, french fries, and specials every day. This was a very popular spot for lunch- many people said the hamburgers were very good. There was also a full buffet line with endless salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, fish and meat dishes, desserts, pretty much anything you can think of. The main dining room is also open for the "luncheon" on most days- so you could have a sit down 3 course meal.
We ate in the main dining room every night for dinner at the 6:15pm seating. The 5 course(appetizer, soup, salad, entree, dessert) meals were very well prepared and there was a lot of varitey each night. My husband was adventurous enough to try some of the more bold things on the menu like frog legs, chicken livers, and sweetbreads.
We ate once at the Olympic Restaurant, the food and service here were of a much higher calibur (it makes all the differece when something is prepared just for you and not in bulk for 2,000 people at once). We really enjoyed our evening here. You can chose from 2 different menus- the menu exceptional which is a 5 course wine pairing that is $30 in addition to the $30 Olympic fee. We both chose this menu, but I was able to do it without the wine because I wasn't feeling up to drinking 5 glasses of wine. He said the wine was paired perfectly with the food.
You are also able to choose 3 courses off an ala carte menu for the standard $30 fee (which has many more options and the portions are supposed to be larger- although the portions we received were very large and we left a little too full).
We really enjoyed getting breakfast delivered to our room and eating it on our balcony- everything was really fresh and delivered mere moments after being cooked. The buffet for breakfast had fresh waffles, pancakes, eggs cooked to order, pasteries, and everything else you can imagine to eat for breakfast.
Anything else you would like to know about the food? We thought everything was great, especially once you think about how many meals they have to prepare at once- the quality and freshness was impressive.
The food was very good, they had a nice selection of items at the causal buffet for breakfast and lunch everyday, as well as sit down meals in the main dining room. We always felt like there were a lot of options for each meal and the food was always extremely fresh. We enjoyed taking advantage of the pasta, pizza, and salad bar that stayed opened until 1 am. Sometimes it was nice to grab something after a long shore excursion if dinner was a couple hours away too. Lunch always had the most variety- there is a grill out by the pool that has hamburgers, veggie burgers, french fries, and specials every day. This was a very popular spot for lunch- many people said the hamburgers were very good. There was also a full buffet line with endless salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, fish and meat dishes, desserts, pretty much anything you can think of. The main dining room is also open for the "luncheon" on most days- so you could have a sit down 3 course meal.
We ate in the main dining room every night for dinner at the 6:15pm seating. The 5 course(appetizer, soup, salad, entree, dessert) meals were very well prepared and there was a lot of varitey each night. My husband was adventurous enough to try some of the more bold things on the menu like frog legs, chicken livers, and sweetbreads.
We ate once at the Olympic Restaurant, the food and service here were of a much higher calibur (it makes all the differece when something is prepared just for you and not in bulk for 2,000 people at once). We really enjoyed our evening here. You can chose from 2 different menus- the menu exceptional which is a 5 course wine pairing that is $30 in addition to the $30 Olympic fee. We both chose this menu, but I was able to do it without the wine because I wasn't feeling up to drinking 5 glasses of wine. He said the wine was paired perfectly with the food.
You are also able to choose 3 courses off an ala carte menu for the standard $30 fee (which has many more options and the portions are supposed to be larger- although the portions we received were very large and we left a little too full).
We really enjoyed getting breakfast delivered to our room and eating it on our balcony- everything was really fresh and delivered mere moments after being cooked. The buffet for breakfast had fresh waffles, pancakes, eggs cooked to order, pasteries, and everything else you can imagine to eat for breakfast.
Anything else you would like to know about the food? We thought everything was great, especially once you think about how many meals they have to prepare at once- the quality and freshness was impressive.
Jul 3rd, 2007, 05:50 AM
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I'd love to read some of the details of your cruise. I'll be doing the same cruise with my family in August.
I'm especially interested in knowing what excursions you took and if you were satisfied. I think we'll do a mix of private and the ship's tours.
I've posted a question about the time to disembark if you don't take the ship's tours. What was your experience in getting off the ship when you didn't take the ship's excursions? Does it take a long time? What was the process?
Two more questions: Since you went in June, were there a lot of children on board? How dressy were the formal nights? I'm thinking that summer might not be as formal as other seasons; of course, I could be wrong.
Thanks. I'm glad that you enjoyed your honeymoon cruise.
I'm especially interested in knowing what excursions you took and if you were satisfied. I think we'll do a mix of private and the ship's tours.
I've posted a question about the time to disembark if you don't take the ship's tours. What was your experience in getting off the ship when you didn't take the ship's excursions? Does it take a long time? What was the process?
Two more questions: Since you went in June, were there a lot of children on board? How dressy were the formal nights? I'm thinking that summer might not be as formal as other seasons; of course, I could be wrong.
Thanks. I'm glad that you enjoyed your honeymoon cruise.
Jul 3rd, 2007, 06:29 AM
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Luisah,
I was responding to your excursion questions as you were responding to my post.
All in all we were very happy with the Celebrity shore excursions. We had both been to Italy before but we wanted to have the least stressful trip as possible, so we booked excursions throught the ship at each port. I wish I would have known before hand how easy it was to just hop off the ship and use the tender or shuttle transportation to get into some of the cities though.
My favorite excursion was the Hot Springs Tour in Santorini. We started out in the afternoon with a hiking tour of the still active volcanic island near Santorini- it was a pretty strenuous hike for a number of the participants who only made it halfway. We then took a quick boat ride to a nearby hot springs and got to jump off the boat into the 20 ft deep cool ocean (which felt great after the hike) and swam to the hot springs (only a short distance). The springs weren't very hot, but many people enjoyed rubbing the thermal mud all over themselves, it was pretty funny to watch. Lastly, the boat took us to the island of Santorini and gave us round-trip cable car tickets to get to the city of Fira on top. We spent the rest of the afternoon on our own, shopping, and enjoying a greek salad and glass of local wine at a local restaurant.
I wouldn't do a tour in Venice. We did the Murano Glassworks, San Giorgio & Gondola Ride. The boat ride out to Murano was really intersting because you got to see what surrounds Venice. The glassworkds tour was dissappointing-it was only about a 20 min demonstration and then you get ushered into their very expensive showroom. The "40 minute" gondola tour was more like 25 minutes and you are crammed in with 5 other people. The port in venice is so close you can actally see St. Marks from your stateroom. Its much easier to just take the shuttle provided by Celebrity (not sure what the cost is) and see it on your own. All you really need is a map!
Our other tours were:
Dubrovnik- Best of the Adriatic- nice walking tour of the old town and a little bit of freetime. A hour or so drive to a restaurant. I think I would have picked a different tour. The resturant wasn't very good (stray cats watching us eat our fish and lot of bugs) The drive was beautiful though.
Athens- Athens and Cape Sounion with Lunch- this includes a short tour of the Acropolis and then an hour and a half scenic drive to the cape for lunch at a restaurant near the beach and a visit to the temple of posideon (we were given way too much freetime to see this tiny site- everyone just wanted to go back on the airconditioned bus) After a 100 degree day at the Acropolis most people feel asleep during the bus ride. If its your first time in Athens, I would pick a tour that see's more the of city.
Naples- Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii Hike- We really enjoyed this tour- we got to go all the way to the crater of Mt. Vesuvius (the bus took us most of the way). Its always unbearable hot in Pompeii (Ive been there 3 times now). Its a great site to see.
Rome- A Taste of Rome- this was a tour that had half free time and half guided tour. It was a nice combination because after a while you want to get away from the big tour group.
Florence- Florence and Pisa on your Own- this was perfect for us because we had already been to Florence but hadn't seen Pisa yet.
Villefranche- Nice, Eze, and Monaco - this was a great way to see all three cities and the market in Nice was really fun to shop in. We wish we would have had more time in each place.
Barcelona City Tour and Airport Transfer- We wished we could have spent another night in Barcelona, but this was a nice introductory tour of the city.
I heard there were around 100-150 children on the boat during our cruise. It never felt like that many because they were pretty well behaved. The Fun Factory I think did a good job with providing them with activities to keep them busy- like scavenger hunts and talent shows.
Formal nights weren't as formal as I thought they would be, it all depended on the family I think. Men either wore tuxedos or a suit and tie. Women usually wore a nice cocktail dress or a pant suit. Nothing too fancy, no ball gowns or anything. I think the dining room is pretty lax with the dress code. I often saw people in jeans and tank tops during casual nights.
I was responding to your excursion questions as you were responding to my post.
All in all we were very happy with the Celebrity shore excursions. We had both been to Italy before but we wanted to have the least stressful trip as possible, so we booked excursions throught the ship at each port. I wish I would have known before hand how easy it was to just hop off the ship and use the tender or shuttle transportation to get into some of the cities though.
My favorite excursion was the Hot Springs Tour in Santorini. We started out in the afternoon with a hiking tour of the still active volcanic island near Santorini- it was a pretty strenuous hike for a number of the participants who only made it halfway. We then took a quick boat ride to a nearby hot springs and got to jump off the boat into the 20 ft deep cool ocean (which felt great after the hike) and swam to the hot springs (only a short distance). The springs weren't very hot, but many people enjoyed rubbing the thermal mud all over themselves, it was pretty funny to watch. Lastly, the boat took us to the island of Santorini and gave us round-trip cable car tickets to get to the city of Fira on top. We spent the rest of the afternoon on our own, shopping, and enjoying a greek salad and glass of local wine at a local restaurant.
I wouldn't do a tour in Venice. We did the Murano Glassworks, San Giorgio & Gondola Ride. The boat ride out to Murano was really intersting because you got to see what surrounds Venice. The glassworkds tour was dissappointing-it was only about a 20 min demonstration and then you get ushered into their very expensive showroom. The "40 minute" gondola tour was more like 25 minutes and you are crammed in with 5 other people. The port in venice is so close you can actally see St. Marks from your stateroom. Its much easier to just take the shuttle provided by Celebrity (not sure what the cost is) and see it on your own. All you really need is a map!
Our other tours were:
Dubrovnik- Best of the Adriatic- nice walking tour of the old town and a little bit of freetime. A hour or so drive to a restaurant. I think I would have picked a different tour. The resturant wasn't very good (stray cats watching us eat our fish and lot of bugs) The drive was beautiful though.
Athens- Athens and Cape Sounion with Lunch- this includes a short tour of the Acropolis and then an hour and a half scenic drive to the cape for lunch at a restaurant near the beach and a visit to the temple of posideon (we were given way too much freetime to see this tiny site- everyone just wanted to go back on the airconditioned bus) After a 100 degree day at the Acropolis most people feel asleep during the bus ride. If its your first time in Athens, I would pick a tour that see's more the of city.
Naples- Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii Hike- We really enjoyed this tour- we got to go all the way to the crater of Mt. Vesuvius (the bus took us most of the way). Its always unbearable hot in Pompeii (Ive been there 3 times now). Its a great site to see.
Rome- A Taste of Rome- this was a tour that had half free time and half guided tour. It was a nice combination because after a while you want to get away from the big tour group.
Florence- Florence and Pisa on your Own- this was perfect for us because we had already been to Florence but hadn't seen Pisa yet.
Villefranche- Nice, Eze, and Monaco - this was a great way to see all three cities and the market in Nice was really fun to shop in. We wish we would have had more time in each place.
Barcelona City Tour and Airport Transfer- We wished we could have spent another night in Barcelona, but this was a nice introductory tour of the city.
I heard there were around 100-150 children on the boat during our cruise. It never felt like that many because they were pretty well behaved. The Fun Factory I think did a good job with providing them with activities to keep them busy- like scavenger hunts and talent shows.
Formal nights weren't as formal as I thought they would be, it all depended on the family I think. Men either wore tuxedos or a suit and tie. Women usually wore a nice cocktail dress or a pant suit. Nothing too fancy, no ball gowns or anything. I think the dining room is pretty lax with the dress code. I often saw people in jeans and tank tops during casual nights.
Jul 12th, 2007, 08:40 PM
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apete143... My husband and I are considering going on the same cruise in June 2008 but I was wondering how the weather was? Was it uncomfortably hot while seeing sights? On days at sea, was it hot enough to be by a pool all day and enjoy the sun, water, and breeze of the mediterranean? Thanks!
Jul 16th, 2007, 09:03 AM
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We happended to be on the cruise during a heat wave in Italy and Greece, so it was in the upper 90's and low 100's for a couple of the shore excursions. Luckily, there was a nice breeze for most of the trip though. Pompeii and the Acropolis have very little shade and its always quite hot there.
On the days at sea, it was plenty hot on the boat to enjoy the pool. The breeze doesn't cut through all of the heat-it just makes it tolerable. Once the sun goes down, the breeze made evenings a little chilly.
On the days at sea, it was plenty hot on the boat to enjoy the pool. The breeze doesn't cut through all of the heat-it just makes it tolerable. Once the sun goes down, the breeze made evenings a little chilly.
